George Springer keeps teasing offensive turnaround Blue Jays desperately need from their veteran

It’s been a frustrating start to the season for Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter George Springer. He’s scuffled at the plate while playing with a fractured toe, looking like a shell of the player who earned down-ballot MVP votes last season. 

The 36-year-old is slashing .207.289/.351 with five home runs and just 14 RBIs across 45 games played in 2026. His .639 OPS (75 OPS+) would be the lowest of his career if the season ended today. 

Some regression was expected for Springer given his age—another season with a .959 OPS was never in the cards. Still, it’s easy to understand why the Blue Jays’ offence has struggled when comparing what he did last year to how he is performing now. While he has shown flashes of still being an impact bat atop the lineup, the Blue Jays need Springer to re-emerge as a consistently dangerous hitter if they are going to turn things around in 2026. 

What’s changed for Springer this year compared to last season?

Improved bat speed and a more aggressive approach fueled Springer’s resurgence in 2025. His 73.7 mph swing ranked in the 73rd percentile among qualified hitters as he made a more deliberate effort to do damage on pitches he wanted to hit. 

Springer ranked among baseball’s elite with a 16.2% barrel rate last year. He backed that with a strong 47.6% hard-hit rate and an 114 mph max exit velocity, which suggests that none of his power production was flukey. 

Pitch selection was an underrated component of Springer’s success in 2025, as his 20.5% chase rate ranked in the 93rd percentile. He took massive hacks on pitches he wanted to hit, but happily took his walks and passed the baton when pitchers wouldn’t give in. 

Things look much different in 2026. Springer has lost a mile per hour of bat speed, which hardly comes as a surprise given his age and injury history. More concerning is that his barrel rate has dropped to 8%, while his hard-hit rate has dropped by more than 10% compared to 2025. He hasn’t hit a ball harder than 109 mph yet this year. 

Springer’s approach has also suffered. He’s chasing more than last year—albeit still not a worrisome amount—and walking at a league-average rate rather than at an elite clip.

Has the toe injury likely factored into Springer’s diminished production? Probably. But he hasn’t helped himself by chasing more pitches out of the strike zone. He needs to be more selective, not less, if he’s not going to hit the ball as hard when he makes contact. 

What’s been most baffling, however, is how Springer has appeared on the cusp of a breakout several times. He hit three home runs in six games between May 18th and May 23rd, but hasn’t gone deep since. He hasn’t been able to sustain a streak. 

Nobody should be expecting Springer to magically return to his 2025 form—that player is gone. Springer still has the tools to be an above-average hitter, though, and the Blue Jays desperately need him to be exactly that atop their lineup moving forward. 

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